A former colleague who practiced only individual treatment, told me that he planned to start his own therapy group. Half-jokingly, he said:” It’s easy. All I need is a box of tissues and eight chairs in a circle”. I asked: “What do you know about group therapy?” He replied:” Nothing. But I’m reading a book”. I sarcastically asked:” Is it called GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR DUMMIES?”. He managed to convince eight (8) of his individual patients to join his group; but it folded in less than a month. Unfortunately, his misguided, arrogant and greedy notion that experience and training aren’t necessary to lead a therapy group, is shared by people that should know better. I have interviewed former members that had been the casualties of groups led by unskilled neophytes at clinics and agencies where the administration ordered clinicians to “run groups–it’s a money maker”. These former group members reported that the results were often disastrous for the patients and leaders alike. They told me that it was often difficult to tell who was more terrified during these sessions, the members or the leaders.
